The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansion of wireline and wireless networks. Wireless and mobile networking technologies have addressed related consumer demands, while providing more flexibility and immediacy of information transfer. Concurrent with the expansion of networking technologies, an expansion in computing power has resulted in development of affordable computing devices capable of taking advantage of services made possible by modern networking technologies. This expansion in computing power has led to a reduction in the size of computing devices and given rise to a new generation of mobile devices that are capable of performing functionality that only a few years ago required processing power that could be provided only by the most advanced desktop computers. Consequently, mobile computing devices having a small form factor have become ubiquitous and are used to access network applications and services by consumers of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
The increase in functionality of mobile computing devices has caused users to rely more often on these devices, particularly while the user is on the go. This increased functionality can be detrimental, however, as users also utilize these devices for multiple applications and functions, often at the same time. Additionally, the small form factor of these devices limits the available processing power. Running too many applications or downloading large files may cause the operation rate of the device to slow, which can lead to frustration by the user, especially when a user is in a rush.